Honolulu Fire Department’s Defibrillators Fail

A brand of defibrillator used by the Honolulu Fire Department has been plagued with problems.

Hawaii News Now says the life-saving equipment on all of the Honolulu Fire Department’s trucks has failed in recent years and been the subject of a manufacturer’s recall.

The defibrillator units are carried on fire trucks to administer an electric shock to save lives when a person’s heart has stopped beating.

The Fire Department uses the Cardiac Science brand of defibrillators. Hawaii News Now says the department has acknowledged its machines malfunctioned while on emergency calls five times in the last six years. It says in each case firefighters administered CPR and the faulty unit was immediately replaced.

The department says the faulty units did not affect patient outcome in the five cases.